Trial and Error
by ZacFF
Summary: Hatsume Mei, a new resident of Musutafu is currently looking for a client to potentially test or get opinions of her babies for. But with seeds of doubt in her mind, she isn't sure whether to continue being an inventor or not. Until she encounters a green-haired boy cleaning the beach. (Cover image isn't mine, credits to whoever owns it. It's beautiful.)


Six in the morning, where mostly everyone was either getting ready for work or going to school, one could see a figure going down the streets.

'_Nothing like the morning breeze.'_

A pink-haired, red and gold, steampunk goggles wearing girl in a black jumpsuit remarked to herself. She was skating down the road with what looked to be simple roller-skates.

And since in the coming months she would study in U.A, she went all the way to Musutafu from Kyoto Prefecture and rented an almost broken down house at a very low price a month.

'_I should've expected it from the price, the walls were just about ready to crash.'_

The girl came across a rather tall ledge in front of her. But instead of slowing down, she bent her knees and prepared to jump.

Just as her feet were starting to go up into the air, a mechanism on the soles of her roller-skates extended and sprang forth like a pogo stick, launching her high up into the air.

'_But it's nothing I, Inventor Extraordinaire Hatsume Mei can't handle!'_

She smiled as she landed on her feet and continued on her way. Then she saw a staircase with guard rails on the side as she took a turn. Smiling, she knew just how to go down.

She jumped and slid on the rails using her roller-skates, and when she got back down perfectly, she continued on her way.

It was dangerous, but Hatsume didn't mind the threat. A few moments later, she had reached her destination.

Hatsume pressed a button on her roller-skates, then suddenly they transformed into normal-looking shoes.

She walked up to a house that looked like it was just about brand new, all clean and shiny, with a few plants here and there.

'_And to think just a few weeks ago this thing looked like a scene straight from a horror movie,'_ she joked internally. _'Thank you, my cleaning babies!'_

There was also the fact that it had a view of the beach.

'_Too bad it's full of scrap, maybe I could get some materials there.'_

She shook her head, walked up to the door, unlocked it and went inside.

* * *

Hatsume breathed in deeply. "Mommy's home, my babies!"

Although she knew no one would hear her, she smiled and nodded. She went straight to her room where a lot of blueprints, tools, circuit boards, springs, magnets, and the like littered almost everywhere neatly organized into several containers. _'My room.'_

Her room was her sanctuary. Where nobody would tell her wrong.

Nobody would say what she should do.

Where nobody would turn her down nor deny her…

Hatsume shook her head and dismissed the thought. She took a seat, grabbed a pencil and tapped her head with it as she pondered on what to do.

'_What should I make next? A gun? An explosive coin? Or maybe…'_ Hatsume continued to list ideas. She needed them after all.

Her babies that would guarantee that she would pass the U.A Support Course exam!

Her ultimate goal, as of now.

She rocked her chair back and forth continuously as she tried to think…

Her thoughts however, were broken as she heard the faint sound of metal being dragged across the ground.

'_Sounds like it's coming from the beach…'_

She kicked off of her chair and went to the nearby window, she then used her quirk.

Hatsume Mei's quirk _[Zoom]_, was just as the name implied; her eyes could see very far, with distances of five kilometers being her very best currently.

Sneaking a peek at the happenings at the Dagoba Beach would be a piece of cake.

Focusing, she could see a figure with green hair struggling to pull a small car with a rope.

There was another figure, but due to obstruction, she could barely see them.

'_Is he training?' _Hatsume wondered. Before she shook her head and immersed herself back to her work.

'_Maybe I could recommend him some of my babies?'_

Hatsume nodded at the idea of a possible patron.

'_Tomorrow will work.'_

For now, she would keep on having ideas.

* * *

'_Scrap!'_

Hatsume's eyes twinkled in delight.

The Dagoba beach was quite littered with what one would call junk or trash.

But for an inventor like her, she could practically use all scrap that was present.

Standing in front of the Dagoba Municipal Beach Part was Hatsume Mei, in her usual outfit, with a backpack.

"Twenty, twenty… one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four…"

Hatsume's eyes zoomed in as she saw a figure doing curl-ups while his legs were on a pole between two vehicles.

She smiled.

'_Time to test a new upgrade.'_

She flipped another switch on her shoes. Then miniature rockets sprang out from the sides.

'_Here…'_

The rockets ignited.

'_We…'_

She bent her knees.

'_Go!'_

And she was off.

Every piece of scrap she avoided as she made her way through.

If only she had noticed the sparks coming out of her shoes.

And now she could see the green-haired figure without zooming in, she decided to let her presence be known.

"Hey there!"

His eyes widened. He didn't expect her or anyone.

And so to make a friendly approach, she would slow do-

'…I can't control it.'

Hatsume couldn't stop, she was going too fast.

And it seems the boy had realized the same.

Just as she passed by the boy, Hatsume had covered her eyes, prepared herself for the recoil

Yet it hadn't come.

Slowly opening her eyes, her feet still being propelled by the rocket shoes, yet she wasn't going anywhere. Then she felt a pulling sensation on the back of her shirt.

She turned around to find the same green-haired boy, gritting his teeth, burying his feet into the ground and pulling with all his might.

Briefly, he and Hatsume made contact.

"Get… shoes… off… please…!"

Hatsume nodded. With her best, she brought her feet up to her chest and reached for the tie.

In one stroke, the shoe fell loose, but because of the direction they were facing and the rockets still going, they shot up to the sky.

Not knowing just what to say, the boy scratched his cheek. "I-I'm sure you can get them ba-"

***BOOM***

The shoes had exploded mid-air and landed right in front of them.

The boy let go of Hatsume, and Hatsume carefully approached her now almost charred shoes.

"Uhm…" The boy tried to think of what to say. "S-s-sorry a-about your shoes."

At first, Hatsume didn't respond.

"S-sorry about that." The boy once again said.

"Spring…"

"E-eh?"

"The mechanism I made to stop the propulsion melted because of the heat from the rockets… Hmm, I see." Hatsume inspected her shoes.

The boy was confused. "H-ha?"

Hatsume snapped her fingers. "Oh right."

In the blink of an eye, Hatsume was in front of the boy.

"I'm Hatsume Mei! Future inventor looking to make a future client!" She declared. "I saw you with my quirk which allows my eyes to become like a scope You look interesting, so be my client alright?"

The boy blinked twice.

"…What?"

"I'll give you stuff that might help you." She said. "I've seen you since yesterday. You've been picking up stuff to strengthen your body."

"A-A-Ah! T-That's… Uhmuhm." The boy struggled to come up with a response. "I-I'm not just picking up scrap."

Hatsume frowned. "Then what are you doing?"

"I-I'm training, but I'm also cleaning the beach!" He said.

Hatsume beamed. "Wow, that's amazing!"

The boy scratched the back of his head. "Y-You think so?"

She nodded ferociously. "Yep! Though it will take you a long time."

"I have about eight months left. Plenty of time." He told her.

"Do you think you can do it in eight months?" Hatsume asked him. "Think I could lend a wrench?"

The boy seemed to ponder on this idea before he ultimately shook his head.

"No thanks." He said. "I-I mean thank you really but-"

Hatsume smiled and shook her head. "No, no, I get it."

The boy titled his head.

"My marketing skills clearly have much room for improvement! I'll come back tomorrow with a better proposal!" Hatsume began to run. "See ya then!"

And then she ran back to her home.

The boy only stood there.

"W-Wha-"

Hatsume ran back to him to get her shoes.

"Hehe, forgot these. See ya tomorrow!"

And so Hatsume Mei was off.

* * *

"Good morning! Will you be my client now?"

The boy moved the piece of metal limiting his vision to see the eccentric inventor.

"I-I really can't right now because-"

Hatsume nodded. "I'll try again tomorrow. Good luck cleaning up!"

As Hatsume ran back, the boy could only stand there.

He sighed. _'I wasn't finished talking.'_

* * *

"I'm back and I've come to bargain!" Hatsume declared. "Be my client!"

"M-Miss, I c-can't and l-let me explai-"

Hatsume laughed. "Now now don't be like that. Tomorrow for sure I know you'll accept my proposal!"

And Hatsume Mei once again ran off without hearing the boy's explanation.

"W-Wait!" The boy tried to call out.

Yet she was already gone.

* * *

Midoriya Izuku was confused.

At first, he was just training and taking the scrap out of the beach.

And then a pink-haired inventor girl appeared who apparently wanted him to be her client.

He had said no, yet she didn't listen to his reasoning, which made him feel bad.

'_But I can't accept her offer… that would be cheating…'_

"Yen for your thoughts, Young Midoriya?"

A deep voice called out to him. He turned around and saw All Might in his so-called _normal_ form.

"A-All Might!"

Toshinori turned towards the corner where the girl had run. "That girl… I saw her visiting you since the other day." He smirked. "A girlfriend?"

Midoriya turned red. "G-G-Girlfriend? No-no-no. S-S-She's nothing like that, in fact-"

Toshinori brought a hand up, which prompted Midoriya to stop talking. "Jokes aside, I assume she wants to be a support hero?"

Midoriya shrugged. "All she told me was that she was Hatsume Mei, an aspiring inventor."

"And I'm assuming she wants you to be her test subject or something along those lines?"

Midoriya thought back. "Uhm, a client was what she told me."

Toshinori nodded. "Then I assume she had extended her word of assistance to you. Question is, why are you declining?"

"H-Huh?"

Toshinori shook his head. "Every pro-hero needs support. You got one offering her assistance, now why are you declining?"

"It…" Midoriya took a deep breath. "It wouldn't be fair."

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "How so Young Midoriya?"

The aforementioned boy clenched his fist and brought it up. "Everyone has worked hard to improve their skills, their quirks, their minds, to get this far. I've already been blessed with a chance for the quirk of the number one hero, and to accept her offer… it-"

"-Fills you with guilt eh?" Toshinori said.

The slimmed-down hero went closer to Midoriya…

And bonked him right at the head.

Midoriya rubbed the top of his head. "A-All Might-"

"NONSENSE!"

"W-What?"

Toshinori coughed. "Listen, everyone has gotten stronger by themselves, you're right."

Midoriya put his head down.

"But they've had years to break down and build up their quirk," Toshinori said. "To get to their level, you need every piece of help you can get. At this pace, you'll be alright by the time semesters start but alright isn't enough. You have to continuously improve. The quicker your body can handle One For All, the better."

Midoriya shuffled his feet. "B-But-"

"Young Midoriya, look at me."

He did as he was told, as he now looked up at All Might's hero form.

All Might flexed. "I didn't become the number one hero by working alone. I worked with other heroes, I assisted them, and most importantly, I had support." He patted Midoriya's shoulder. "There is no shame in accepting help Young Midoriya. I'm not saying you should accept, but please think about it. Don't let your guilt cloud your judgment."

Midoriya nodded. "A-All Might, thanks!"

The hero smiled. "See, you even needed assistance from me." He then shifted to his normal form. "But I'm not helping you clean this beach up! Come on Young Midoriya, _let's get fit_!"

Midoriya immediately went back to work. "Y-Yes, sir!"

All the while, All Might's words floated around his mind.

'_... Don't let my guilt cloud my judgment?'_

* * *

"Mister! Please be my client." Hatsume asked again for the third time.

Midoriya smiled. He had expected her. And now with his mind made up, he knew just what to do.

"I-"

Hatsume struck a pose. "Hold on let me guess. Your next line is; '_Sorry I decline'_!"

"I accept."

Hatsume nodded. "I refuse your refusal." She prepared to run. "I will be back tomor-"

Her eyes went wide. "Wait, what?"

"I-I accept."

The inventor cleared her ears. "S-Say what?"

"I-I accept.."

Hatsume beamed. "You do?!"

"Y-Yes!"

"Really really?!"

"Really ye-! Y-Y-You're getting too close!"

Hatsume was getting closer and closer to Midoriya, while the latter was backing away.

Until Midoriya tripped on a piece of scrap, which made Hatsume fall with him as well. Midoriya opened his eyes as he was laying down, he looked below him and saw Hatsume was right at his neck, he blushed.

Hatsume didn't feel any pain, she was still overjoyed at the happenings. "Thank you! Really! Oh, I am so going to show you my babies!"

"B-B-B-Babies?!"

"I build them all myself, some explode, some don't, the ones that don't make other things explode and then they explode. I keep the ones that I'm sure don't explode. The ones that do explode, I improve!"

Midoriya sweatdropped.

'_That much was obvious.'_

Hatsume looked up to Midoriya. "Do you really accept? Me? As your inventor?"

Midoriya nodded. "I-I-I've thought about it and yes."

The girl once again beamed and hugged him tightly, with no regard for shame.

The green-haired boy turned red. "T-T-They're t-t-touching me…"

He did his best to stand up, which in turn was followed by Hatsume.

She flicked her hair back and adjusted her aviators. "Let me reintroduce myself. Hatsume Mei, recently moved here, future inventor looking for a future client."

"Midoriya Izuku, future hero." Midoriya introduced himself. "Recently moved here? Where are you from?"

Hatsume grinned. "Don't sweat the small stuff."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow. " Alright." then he had an idea. "H-Hey, how would you like a partnership instead?"

Hatsume raised an eyebrow. "A partnership?"

He nodded. "Y-Yeah, I mean if I'm your client, that means I have to pay you or something, but with a partnership, it's a give and take process… at least I think that was what it is…" Midoriya mumbled at the end. "Though I'm only at the beach until 9 am…"

Hatsume's eyes widened. _'Partnership… Give and take process… isn't that what being friends were?'_

Midoriya scratched the back of his head. "I-I'm not good with terms like those so… I guess we could call it being friends."

"Friends…?"

"Y-Yeah."

Hatsume smiled. "Alright, let's be friends, partner." She offered her hand.

"Y-Yes, let's." He took her hand and shook it.

"This seals the deal!" Hatsume said. "No backsies."

Midoriya chuckled. "I-I-I would never."

And so the two smiled at each other, basking in the glory of a newly formed bond.

* * *

\- The Next Day -

Although Midoriya had to send Hatsume back home because of time restraints, today Midoriya was back at it again. Very early in the morning picking up objects of different shapes and sizes.

Community service indeed.

And after about two hours had passed, he heard the sound of soft yet heavy footsteps approaching.

"How did things go Young Midoriya?"

Midoriya turned around to see Toshinori walking towards him.

Then his eyes turned wide.

Hatsume was going to visit again, wasn't she? Then if she saw All Might like thi-

"You're thinking she might recognize me in this form, right?" Toshinori said as if knowing exactly what the boy was thinking.

"Y-Yeah."

Toshinori grinned. "Heh, well fear not. I have this invention!" he pulled out a hat from his bag and wore it.

At first, Midoriya had no idea what the hat was for, although the design itself was nice.

Until…

"Behold Young Midoriya!" Toshinori exclaimed.

The hat didn't do much that was noticeable. but a few moments after being put on, it _changed_ the pro hero's hair.

Starting from the scalp, the pro-hero's hair color changed from yellow to dark brown. Bit by bit every strand of his hair changed.

"A-A-A-All M-Might!"

Toshinori laughed. "Apparently this is a trend for teenagers these days, and it works!" he said. "Though you will have to refer to me as Sir while the girl is here, we should be just fine."

Midoriya nodded. "Yes, sir!"

'_Besides, the people couldn't, wouldn't believe that the no. 1 hero was a scraggly man like this.'_

Then, both of them heard wheels. The sound was getting closer and closer.

Midoriya steeled himself. "Here she comes."

* * *

Making her way down to the beach, Hatsume Mei was on her scooter.

She woke up feeling happy, and she was still happy. She had a friend as of yesterday! And what's more, it was a chance to showcase her inventions given the right time.

Maybe on his off days or something.

Nevertheless, as Hatsume drew near, she could see another man beside Midoriya.

"G-G-G-Good m-morning!" Midoriya greeted.

The man beside him smiled and approached her. "Hey there, I heard you became Midoriya-kun's partner isn't that right?"

Hatsume nodded. "That's right! Hatsume Mei, at your service."

"Then please let me ask you." the man fiddled with his hat. "What do you want to become?"

Hatsume grinned. "A support-hero and a top inventor!"

The man smiled. _'No hesitation.'_

"Such ambition at such a young age." the man remarked. "I hope you'll be able to help him as much as he could possibly help you."

The girl only gave a wide smile in response.

"A- Sir, should I-"

"Get back to work Midoriya-kun!" the man cheered. "The beach isn't going to clean itself!"

"Y-Y-Yessir!"

* * *

Hatsume and Sir, as he liked to call himself, sat down behind the scene.

She watched as Midoriya picked and cleaned up several materials, some she could definitely use, and brought them all to one place.

But something was amiss.

"Do you notice something Hatsume-san?" Toshinori asked beside her.

She nodded. "Yeah, his shoulders get strained too much, his muscles get too tense," she said. "It's like he's…"

Toshinori smiled.

Hatsume clicked her fingers. "The whole purpose of having Midoriya clean up the beach wasn't just to clean it, but to exercise his muscles as well!" she deduced. Then she frowned. "But… his muscles aren't all getting the work, he sometimes relies on his legs when he needs to use his hips."

"Excellent deduction Hatsume-"

"Though If I were to make him something what would I make… A bodysuit? A regulator? A sensor? A shock sensor? Portable weights? A limiter? Or maybe something that could strengthen him… Oh, so many babies so little time."

There were so many opportunities! And she was just getting started.

Hatsume walked up to Midoriya but didn't get close enough to interrupt his work.

"Midoriya. I noticed you overuse some of your muscles without needing to." Hatsume said. "Mind if I help?"

Midoriya smiled. "It's alrigh-"

"What if you hurt your tendons? What if your shoulders can't handle the strain?" the inventor had listed. "Come on, let me help you! We're friends aren't we?"

Friends, oh how she loved saying that word now.

"A-A-Alright."

Hatsume pumped her fists. "Yeah! Now what do I make you?" she thought upon it. "I can't make you something too heavy. For maximum usage, you'd need something portable at best… something to lessen the strain and usage…"

Midoriya watched as she trailed off. Mumbling her ideas.

He sweatdropped. _'Is this how I'm like?'_

"I got it!" she cheered. Hatsume then grabbed her backpack and pulled out several protective bands.

"T-Those are…"

Hatsume grinned. "Don't be fooled by its appearance. Try it." she moved closer to Midoriya to put it on but…

"I-I-I can do it by myself H-Hatsume-san." Midoriya blushed as he took a step back. He bent down to drop what he was carrying.

"Alright." Hatsume gave the bands to him.

As he wore them, he could feel the material adjusting to him, fitting to his body. He put them on his knees, calves, biceps, shoulders, wrist, and his back. He _felt_ them change their sizes and adapt to their host.

"Whoa."

Hatsume chuckled. "Like them? They're my protective babies!"

Midoriya opened and closed his fists. "Uhm… what?"

"You know how like fighters have those protective bands on their wrists or knees to protect them? That's where I got the idea for these babies!" she told. "My babies were originally meant to be used for fighting, not that I'm much of a fighter, but they could be used this way as well!"

She picked up a broken stereo television with two hands and brought it over to Midoriya who had both hands outwards.

'_This should be easy.' _ Midoriya thought. It wasn't the first television he had picked up.

Though once the tv was dropped into his hands…

Midoriya suddenly found it hard to push the television upwards.

'_W-Why?'_

"Use your legs more."

Midoriya did as he was told, and oddly, he could stand up straight. The strain he found earlier no longer present. He then moved the television to the same pile he'd been putting the trash in for the previous two hours.

Midoriya began to feel the so-called protective material around his body hardening and softening, looking at it oddly. "W-What exactly happened Hatsume-san?"

The inventor grinned. "Heh, what happened is you not using your whole body to lift that television." Hatsume pulled out a screen from her pocket. "All of the bands you have send a signal that says what is putting on more work and which part isn't."

She showed him a screen with what looked to be the silhouette of a human body, with various parts of it in green, yellow, orange, and red.

"When you tried to pick up the TV earlier, your shoulders turned red, your knees went orange, your hips went yellow, yet your back stayed green." Hatsume playfully clicked her tongue. "This baby's purpose isn't just to be a plain band, it tells what part of your body you should be putting more work in."

"...Uhm what?"

"Young Midoriya, you use the parts of your body that you're more used to using," Toshinori said. "If you don't use your whole body to form a specific function, you might overstrain and instead of strengthening, it will weaken."

He took a look at Hatsume's invention. "I have to say. Such an amazing device at such a young age Hatsume-san."

Hatsume shook her head. "It's nothing compared to my other babies! This is just scratching the surface of what I can do!"

Toshinori smiled and nodded. _'Such potential.'_

"Alright!" Midoriya pumped his fists. "Thanks to Hatsume-san's invention, my training can be more effective!"

Hatsume nodded. "Work hard Midoriya-kun! I'll keep supporting you as your partner and make even more helpful babies!"

Toshinori watched their interaction. With Midoriya struggling to pick objects up properly and Hatsume telling him what body part to use, it was a strange yet not unwanted sight.

'_I wonder where this friendship shall go to…'_

* * *

A month passed since Hatsume and Midoriya had become partners, or friends as was Hatsume preferred.

And now, Hatsume Mei was anxious to let Midoriya try her new invention.

She called it the Tracker, a temporary name.

The premise was simple.

"So I have a remote, and I use it to fly this drone around?" Midoriya examined the control pad in his hands that controlled the flying drone the size of his hand in front of him.

Hatsume nodded. "Right! And there's supposed to be a camera function but this is just a test run."

He nodded and proceeded to make simple moves.

Up.

Down.

Left

Right

All the simple movements he made was reflected onto the digital screen on the controller, he presumed it was the GPS function.

Hatsume smirked. "Now, press that HS button."

Midoriya did as he was told.

The moment he did, the hum of the propellers had increased and the speed of the drone had noticeably increased.

"Now have it make contact with something," Hatsume said as she stuck out a part of her workshop overalls tied to her waist.

"I have a bad feeling about this." The controller screen glitched for a split second.

Hatsume laughed. "Taking risks is part of being an inventor!"

"I-If you say so." he then maneuvered the drone towards Hatsume's coveralls. The moment it did however, the propellers retracted themselves and the drone's core attached itself to her clothing.

"W-Woah…"

"See! It attaches itself to the target's clothing, it's almost impossible to remove it once it's in this mode!" she declared.

Then the drone suddenly beeped every two seconds, and flashed red.

"Uhm, is that supposed to happen?"

"..."

"Hatsume-san?"

"Ehh…" Hatsume scratched her cheek. "I think I added a self-destruct function by accident."

Midoriya's eyes widened. "What?!"

The drone then began beeping every second.

"And I also think it has a timer."

"How can you not know this?"

"I might have spaced out while making this."

"How did you not hurt yourself?"

"I actually intended this to be an explosive device but somewhere along the lines it became a tracking chip."

:That's… I don't even-

Then the drone began beeping every half a second, indicating it's explosion.

Then without prior warning, Midoriya threw down the controller, ripped the part of Hatsume's clothing where the drone was attached and…

Chucked it into the sea.

Hatsume laughed… then she lost feeling in her legs and fell down on her buttocks.

"To be fair I don't think the explosion is to bi-"

The ground beneath them shook as the two watched a pillar of water come up and fall back down. Evidently an effect of the underwater explosion.

"..."

"..."

The two were silent. Until Midoriya turned around towards Hatsume.

The inventor closed her eyes and braced herself for what's to come.

The usual routine. She'd build something, it would explode, then they'd tell her what she's doing was dangerous, to leave it to the professionals. Then eventually they'd drift away from her due to her very nature.

"W-Well, with how hard the propellers were going I reckon it could hover a person!" Midoriya remarked. Before his attention went to Hatsume. "Ah! Hatsume-san are you alright?"

_Huh?_

The boy in front of her took both of her hands into his and helped her stand. He patted her clothes down and frowned.

"S-Sorry about your coveralls, I mean I couldn't find any other way to remove it since you said it was impossible to detach them when they're in that mode and I didn't have time to test your theory and…" Midoriya continued to mutter reasoning.

Meanwhile, Hatsume stood there. In her mind she wasn't even hearing most of what Midoriya had been saying.

Had he just asked if she was… okay?

"M-Midoriya…"

"Yeah again I'm sorry about the coveralls." an alarm broke their moment. Midoriya's eyes widened. "Oh I have to start cleaning again."

"O-Oh alright." Hatsume watched him go and clean part of the beach once again.

* * *

Two weeks later and Hatsume Mei was back with another invention of hers at six in the morning.

"Hey Midoriya! Look at my new baby!" Hatsume called as she stood right above the beach's steps. "The explosive coin!"

Midoriya blinked. "I-Isn't that dangerous?"

"Heh, of course is it." Hatsume grinned. "All you gotta do is throw this coin and with the right amount of impact it should-"

Hatsume eyes went wide when she actually threw the coin upward.

Midoriya scanned above them looking for the gleam of a coin.

And it was descending rapidly. She hadn't calibrated the coin yet, any impact would be enough to set it off.

Midoriya ran towards the inventor. "Hatsume-san watch out!"

Hatsume was frozen in her place, her legs simply wouldn't move!

About a feet closer to Hatsume, Midoriya saw the coin fall down onto them.

'_Can't reach it, not much time.' _By the time Midoriya could reach it, he was probably too close to it and too close to Hatsume.

'_Hatsume-san…'_

His eyes trailed onto the frozen girl still looking onto the sky, her eye's widened when she saw the coin almost in front of her.

'_Hatsume-san! That's it!'_

He didn't need to catch the coin.

All he needed to do was get Hatsume out of the way.

And so with that in mind, Midoriya paid no mind to the falling explosive, but rather to the frozen female past it.

"Hatsume-san get back!"

Midoriya tackled Hatsume out of the way, but then came another problem.

Right behind Hatsume were steps.

Midoriya thought fast, he twirled his body around along with Hatsume that he was on the bottom while the inventor was on the top.

Now normally a fall of two steps wouldn't hurt that much, but with the added weight of one Hatsume Mei…

He could only make sure Hatsume didn't escape his hold and brace himself for impact.

***BOOM* **The explosion wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. They both would've been caught up and injured if they were still on the same platform as before.

And then Midoriya landed onto the cold hard ground.

'_Ack-'_

Midoriya groaned as he felt pain in his back, but not as much as he thought, rather it was much lesser. Then he felt something slowly softening and hardening from his back.

Then he remembered. _'Hatsume-san's bandages!'_ those protective bandages wrapped around his body, he had almost forgotten them.

He wore them under his clothes for whole days after all, taking them off only when he slept.

Then brought his attention back to the girl in front of him. Oblivious to their scandalous position, Midoriya got out under Hatsume, then took her hand in his and helped her stand up.

"That was…" Midoriya caught his breath.

Hatsume's eyes widened, then she shut them.

Here it was. It was the second time an invention had failed on her, and this time he had gotten hurt as well.

Surely now he'd want to sever ties with her. Yes. Nobody would want such a dangerous inventor whose inventions mostly went wrong as a partner. Just like-

The green-haired boy climbed the steps and examined the aftermath. "Quite an output for something as small as a coin." Midoriya chuckled. "Good thing we got outta there unscathed." then he raised an eyebrow and turned towards Hatsume. "A-Are you alright Hatsume-san? You're not hurt are you?"

Hatsume's eyes widened. _'Again…' _she shook her head no.

Midoriya sighed in relief. "That's good." The same alarm as before had rung.

"Well guess I gotta go to work." he told her.

But Midoriya couldn't go any further as Hatsume had grabbed hold of his arm.

"Hatsume-san?"

Hatsume refused to look at Midoriya in the eye. "Are… you okay? Are you hurt?

The boy raised an eyebrow before he smiled and shook his head. "No, not really."

Hatsume frowned. _'Not really… that means he still got hurt. Because of me.'_

"Thanks to your bandages I'm pretty much fine."

Hatsume looked up at Midoriya. "H-Huh?"

Midoriya pulled his t-shirt up to show Hatsume her bandages.

"Your bandages absorbed most of the impact, I only felt minimal amounts of pain thanks to your invention." Midoriya said before he smiled at Hatsume.

"So thanks!"

Hatsume watched him go off into the beach to clean.

All the while, the pink-haired inventor was flabbergasted, yet she couldn't help but smile.

'_I… helped someone.'_

* * *

Several weeks have passed, and four things have happened.

First, It took them several weeks, but Midoriya and Hatsume could now converse with one another comfortably. Midoriya took some getting used to Hatsume's shameless and forward personality. But he could manage to talk to Hatsume without stuttering the least bit.

Second, the bandages Midoriya was using had worn out, a positive sign that his body as a whole was in much better shape than when he first put on the bandages.

Of course, at first Midoriya felt bad that he had broken her invention, but Hatsume had shook her head and brought him another set almost immediately. Saying that if it broke, it had to be improved.

That was convenient.

Third, Hatsume had apparently fixed her rocket boots/skates and was now wearing them again! Turns out all she had to do was remove the spring. She was sad that the spring function was no more, but all in the name of science!

And the fourth thing was...

Hatsume had another _baby_.

She had come way earlier than usual this time.

"Midoriya! This time I think this little baby might help you."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow as Hatsume had given him a harpoon gun.

"This is a harpoon gun."

"With modifications!" Hatsume said. "Go on, shoot it at whatever you want. Once you shoot it, the gun should become a strap on your wrist and you should be able to pull whatever it is with ease."

Midoriya nodded. He aimed at a random object while facing the ocean and shot the invention.

***BANG***

The recoil was nuts, he fell on his back and caused his shot to miss his aim by a long shot, going so far as to sink in the ocean.

'_This has some good distance.'_

Then as Hatsume said, a piece of leather had sprung out and tied itself onto his arm.

When attempting to pull an object with heavier mass, instead of the user pulling the object towards him, the user gets pulled by the object. Meanwhile underwater the arrow had fully extended itself and was fully wedged in between an anchor that drifted near the bay.

And so via the device's natural function, the gun began retracting. Yet the one who was being pulled was Midoriya.

He tried to pry off the leather on his arm yet to no avail, even as he stood on the rails and attempted to get it off it still wouldn't.

Midoriya struggled. "H-Hatsume-san how do you stop this?!"

Hatsume grit her teeth.

Was she this useless?

Her baby was malfunctioning in front of her and yet all she could do was stand and watch?

Watch as a dear friend of hers struggled?

Hearing her mind say the word friend had made Hatsume decide what to do.

'_I will help my partner! That is the duty of a support hero!'_

Hatsume flicked a switch in her boots and rockets ignited from her soles, yet unlike her previous boots, these seemed to be more controlled.

"Hang on Midoriya!"

Hatsume Mei burst off to Midoriya with speed.

'_Think Hatsume! What could make those wires snap?!'_

"U-Use a blade or something sharp! Doesn't matter just cut the wire!"

Hatsume's eyes grew a twinkle.

_Something sharp eh?_

She grinned. "I gotcha."

Once she was close enough she grabbed hold of the railing, vaulted over and adjusted her body so that the angle in which her rocket boots propelled her was to the side.

And her leg was right above the wire like an axe.

Then the wheel on her boots retracted and gave way to the rollerskate blades. Once she saw the amount of tension going into the wires and Midoriya's muscle tensing, she was filled with determination.

'_Time to repay the favor Midoriya.'_

Hatsume brought down her foot along with the blade that had the rocket increasing its momentum. The moment it collided with the metal wire, it caused a spark.

But a spark was good, it meant that something was happening.

Hatsume groaned as she pulled up a small lever in her boots. The flames from her boots grew a little wider and turned to blue.

Just… a little more… Midoriya…"

"I'm… pulling as hard… as I… can…!"

As the blade was being pushed down harder, the sparks emanating began becoming wilder, louder.

Both individuals did their best. With Midoriya pulling and Hatsume pushing, it was only a matter of time until…

***SNAP***

The cord had finally snapped from the tension. But the sudden separation had caused Midoriya and Hatsume to lose their balance.

Midoriya fell on his back yet didn't feel any pain as the bandages shielded him.

Although Hatsume, thanks to her quick reflexes, had managed to regain her balance. She gripped the railings, vaulted herself over to where Midoriya was and safely landed.

That was until the fuel in her boots had run out and the flames slowly died. The blade on her right leg also shattered due to friction.

And so she had fallen right beside Midoriya.

Hatsume heaved. She hadn't felt such a rush in her life.

"Hatsume-san…" Midoriya caught his breath. "That was so…"

Once again, doubt began to fill Hatsume's mind as she unconsciously closed her eyes and grimaced.

"That was so cool!" Midoriya began chuckling. "The way you moved, the way your boots shifted, your reflexes! It was amazing!"

Instead of taking the comments in stride, Hatsume's eyes were wide.

"Why…"

"H-Huh?"

"Why are you not angry with me?" she said. "I caused a lot of trouble for you. I caused you pain. Heck, even I might be holding your training back. Why do you keep complimenting me? Why do you keep me around?"

The green-haired boy was wide-eyed. Was this the same girl as before? The eccentric, no-regard-for-personal-space friend of his?

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Can't you see?! Everything I make is a failure. Nothing I do seems right!" Hatsume spat out. "I'm… a failure as an inventor. Why do you even keep me around?"

Midoriya looked at his side to find the inventor hiding her face.

"Because we're friends remember?" he smiled.

"That's another thing. How can you keep calling me a friend? All I do is cause you trouble!" she said. "Friends are supposed to give and take from each other, I'm only giving you problems and I take almost nothing negative from you. Why?"

Midoriya frowned. "Is that what you think being friends means?"

"H-Huh?"

He looked up towards the orange sunrise sky. "Friends help each other Hatsume-san. Otherwise there'd be no point." he told her. "Tell me Hatsume-san. What made you want to have me as a client?"

"..." at first Hatsume had stayed silent.

"I-It's alright if you don-"

"It's a requirement for aspiring support course students to have inventions that work." she said. "Yet how am I going to do that when nobody wanted to have me test my babies on them?"

"T-Then couldn't you have gone to someone other than me in your hometown? Surely there ar-"

"None."

"T-That can't-"

"No, Midoriya, you don't understand." she sniffed. "Nobody would accept my offer, even if it was to test them out. After all, who would try out the inventions of _Hakai no Hatsume Mei_?"

_Hatsume Mei of Destruction…_

"I'm branded as a failure of an inventor by my own peers, they try to be nice about it but I can tell what they're really saying." she said. "Saying it was dangerous, someone could get hurt, to stop what I was doing, they were just looking out for me. They all phrased it differently, but I knew what they were really saying."

She clenched her fist. "Give up being an inventor Hatsume, you can't even make something right."

Midoriya's eyes widened.

* * *

"_You can't get into the hero course just by studying!"_

"_You'll never be a hero Deku, you're quirkless."_

* * *

"That's why I moved here, to get a fresh start. But most of my babies are only for mediocre purposes." Hatsume said. "I couldn't make the real good stuff without any tests."

She gripped his sleeve. "So I somehow got you to agree to have me as a partner, then you called me a friend, I was so happy." she wiped a tear. "I thought it was finally time for me to show, to prove all the others wrong."

"But as you saw time and time again, almost everything I make blows up," she said. "I try and improve them, I salvage pieces and make them up from scratch but…"

Both of them only stared into the distance.

"But _you're _weird," Hatsume told him. "When my babies blew up or malfunctioned, I expected you to be angry at me and cut ties. But no, all you did was be amazed at the outcome and ask me if I was alright. Every time."

"Hatsume-san…"

"No. Why? People don't want anything to do with me. All my life I've been building only to be knocked back down. I try and be positive and push through but it _hurts!"_ Hatsume sniffed. "Why? Why do you even keep someone like me around?

Hatsume's teary eyes stared right into Midoriya's.

"I can't be a-"

"'_Give up being a hero Midoriya-kun, it's not for you.'_"

"H-Huh?"

Midoriya bitterly smiled at the figure laying down beside him.

"That's what people have been telling me since I was really young," he said. "I was strongly discouraged from being a hero, however, someone told me I could be one."

He put his fist up. "Someone told me _'You can be a hero.'_" he told her. "And so here I am, training to become one."

Hatsume's eyes were wide. Her friend had that type of past?

"Don't let others decide who you are. Let yourself realize just who you want to be," he said. "Don't you want to be an inventor?"

"B-But my babies aren't that good…"

"NONSENSE." Midoriya chuckled as he imitated a certain no.1 hero. "The tracker drone you made could easily be used to catch criminals with speed quirks! It might even make them hover if it has a grapple function."

"The coin…"

"That could be used for a surprise attack and a throwable lethal! The fact that you crammed that much firepower into something as little as a coin is really amazing Hatsume-san!"

"B-But today…"

"Today was a bit alarming. But when you take out the prospect of me being pulled it kinda reminded me of those grapple guns you see in video games." he grinned. "Not to mention you finally got your boots back, although one of your blades shattered."

Hatsume grit her teeth, she slammed one of her fists down onto the ground. "Dammit! Don't do this Midoriya… don't give me hope." she said. "I was convinced my babies did nothing, could help no one, and yet-"

"Your boots helped me now." Midoriya stopped her. "If it weren't for your quick thinking I might've gotten pulled into the ocean by now."

"Y-You could've handled it yourself."

"But it was you who cut the wire." he smiled. "Not to mention your bandages have given me great training in using my body right, it even lessened my fall damage during that time with the coin."

Hatsume closed her eyes. She didn't want to listen, yet she wanted to believe. She wanted to believe that her inventions weren't good for nothing. That she could help people, give support, make something actually usable.

Even if by some chance… some miracle… she wanted to...

"Your babies have helped me more than you know Hatsume-san." Midoriya smiled. "With all that has been going on, with all you've told me, allow me to say the words that made me determined to rise above other's expectations.

She wanted to hear somebody tell her…

"You can be an inventor Hatsume-san." Midoriya wiped her tears and smiled. "Please never forget that.

...say she could be an inventor!

Overtaken with emotion, Hatsume embraced Midoriya with all her heart. She cried into his shoulder like they were the only people in the world. Midoriya blushed at the sudden contact, but calmed down, returned the embrace and let Hatsume cry.

_She needs this._

"T-Thank you. Thank you."

Hatsume continued to say as she cried.

Midoriya smiled and kept his hold.

"Hey, what are friends for?" he said, unsure of his response.

But the fact that Hatsume tightened her hold around him…

He was sure it was.

Neither of them noticed the scraggly yellow-haired man smiling at the scene behind a rock.

* * *

"Heh, sorry about that little outburst Midoriya." Hatsume sheepishly said. "I don't know what came over me."

Midoriya shook his head. "It's fine really. It's a good thing you let it out of your system."

Then the alarm beeped.

"Oh, I guess it's time to get to work now." Midoriya went on ahead.

Hatsume nodded. "If you find anything useful tell me!" she said as she walked towards a nearby bench and sat.

'_Breaking down crying… that's not me.' _Hatsume thought. _'Still though. Midoriya was right, I feel lighter somehow.'_

Almost as if a weight was lifted off of her shoulders, her friend who continued to support her.

'_But it is strange, I've only ever done that with my parents and now Midoriya.' _She didn't notice a blush creeping up her face. _'Why do I feel… comfortable around him?'_

Then a figure stood next to her.

"May I sit down?"

Hatsume turned her head up to see the man known to her as Sir.

"Oh absolutely!"

Toshinori smiled. "Thank you." he sat down. "Say, what are your plans for the future?"

"Plans?"

He nodded. "What you're going to do after this." he said. "Only a week and two months left until the hero course entrance exam. Midoriya-shounen should have cleaned the beach by then and his training will be complete. How about you?"

Hatsume smiled. "I'm going to be in the support course for U.A!"

Toshinori nodded. "The exam for support course students are in the coming week then, are you prepared?"

At this Hatsume frowned a little and scratched her cheek. "Well… I don't really know." she admitted. "Since support course students who don't have recommendation take a practical exam which is to build support items based on the theme set by the proctor.."

"Correct. And the reason they're two months earlier than everyone else is because the first month is for the exam. And the second month is for those who are accepted to set up their workshop at U.A and dorm." Toshinori said.

Hatsume nodded. "Yeah. But…"

He frowned. "Would you rather want a recommendation letter?"

Hatsume shook her head. "No, I'd rather pass with my own merit."

At this, Toshinori smiled. _'Brave girl.'_

"It's just…"

"You're still insecure?" the pro-hero guessed.

"Hah, do I wear my heart on my sleeve or something?" Hatsume joked, then she turned serious. "What if I make something and it isn't good enough? What if it doesn't impress? I mean I like steampunk but..."

'_Steampunk?'_

"Those images plague my mind the closer the exam." she said.

Toshinori frowned. "How about this Hatsume-san." he called for Hatsume's attention. "Don't think about what happens during the exam. Think about what you'll do _after_ you pass the exam," he said. "Why do you want to become a support hero? Why do you try so hard? Why do you make inventions?"

"H-Huh." Hatsume said. "I… I want to keep making my babies to help! I want to reach heights never before seen in the history of inventors." she smiled. "I want people to hear my name and just know my babies are to be trusted!"

"Looking far off into the future huh." Toshinori smiled. "Then, think about which hero you want to be a support hero for?" he smiled.

"Who I want to be a support for…?"

"Being a support hero is akin to a sidekick, except a support hero is someone who indirectly supports the hero." he told her. "The one you want to make inventions for. It can be as far-fetched as you want it to be. Dreams keep the soul determined after all."

Toshinori closed his eyes and waited for an answer.

Except it never came.

He opened his eyes to ask again just in case she hadn't heard him…

But to look was all the answer he needed.

There Hatsume was, staring off with the tips of her ears slowly turning red.

Toshinori followed her gaze, his eyes widened, then he smirked.

Hatsume had her gaze set on the green-haired boy cleaning the beach.

It was obvious to the hidden hero just what was going on.

"Look at him go," he said. "He's still wearing the bandages correct?"

Hatsume nodded. "Yeah. I just got them replaced."

"Replaced?"

"Yep. The old ones broke a while ago since Midoriya's body has gotten sturdier. I made a few size adjustments to the new ones but aside from that they're still the same."

He smiled. "He's improving."

"Darn right he is."

He raised an eyebrow at the remark, then grinned. "When he first started, he was as scraggly as he could be, but he had great spirit," he said. "Now look at him go, after you and he became acquainted on the fifth month he's made leaps on his progress, more than the schedule I gave him had said he would be." He pat Hatsume's shoulders. "Thanks to your invention, he knows how to use his body more efficiently now. Thank you Hatsume-san."

Hatsume's eyes twinkled. "You're very welcome!" she laughed. "Though, I have a question."

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

The salmon-haired girl nodded. "Why have him clean up the beach?" she asked. "If he's training to be a hero, wouldn't a gym be better or something."

The man chuckled at her question. "That's because I'm making him aware of just want he's in for," he said. "Heroes weren't all about the flashy stuff back in the day. It was a community service." he told her.

"What do you mean?"

"I want the fact that being a hero shouldn't be about showing off engraved in his mind," he told her. "I want him to become a hero for the sake of helping people, to make them feel safe." he smiled. "That's why I had him clean up this beach. Not only does he get training, but if he does manage to clean up the beach then it'll make the people happy and tourists have a new location to visit."

Hatsume nodded. "I understand. A hero helps in all sorts of ways." she smiled. "Like a support hero!"

Toshinori laughed. "Of course Hatsume-san! Believe you can do it!"

Hatsume laughed as well.

Seems she couldn't help but feel safe around Midoriya's mentor either.

"You know, you sound like All Might."

The man froze. "Eh?"

Hatsume put up a thoughtful pose. "I mean, I've never met the guy in person. But if I did I somehow feel like it would be like talking to you."

Toshinori chuckled nervously. "I-I'll take that as a compliment."

'_Truly a weird girl'_

* * *

She and Midoriya had worked together in some sort of way throughout the week. With Hatsume gathering experimental materials and Midoriya still picking up trash from the beach along with the occasional talks with Midoriya's mentor.

And just like that a week had passed.

Morning came by and just before she was about to go to UA and get to her exam, she decided there was some time left. She decided to swing by Midoriya and give him something.

"Hey Midoriya!" Hatsume called out.

Midoriya stopped in the middle of his curl-ups and smiled back. "Hatsume-san!" he then noticed her attire.

Hatsume ditched the coveralls, baggy pants and black shirt for a standard black winter uniform, but she still wore her custom rocket boots.

It was quite a change really.

Hatsume smirked. "Heh, how do I look Midoriya? Smitten?"

Midoriya blushed. "W-W-Well it's a change to see you in something like a uniform since I've always seen you in the same clothes every time b-but sorry I might've been looking too much and-"

As Midoriya trailed off, Hatsume couldn't help but feel giddy at Midoriya's reaction. Somehow knowing Midoriya was at the very least attracted to her in some way made her happy.

"Anyway, the exam for the support course starts today," Hatsume said. "And I would've gone by now but I wanted to give you something first!"

She grabbed her bag and pulled out some kind of… vest?

"You might be thinking this is a vest, and you're right it is!" she smirked. "But, this isn't just any vest." she offered the material to Midoriya. "Touch it."

Midoriya grabbed hold of the fabric. He admit it was nice, very soft and-

"Now smack it."

"...Huh?"

"Smack it!"

Midoriya nodded. He brought his fist down to the material. He guessed it would pass through or flow just like any fabric.

But the moment his fist collided with it, it felt like punching a solid, concrete wall.

Midoriya recoiled in pain as he clutched his arm and shook it. "W-What was that?"

"Hmm." Hatsume grinned. "This, is my special, one-of-a-kind, experimental, exclusive for Midoriya Izuku, protective baby!" she said. "Using the materials I found on the beach and several others, I replicated a sort of kevlar with features similar to oobleck."

"Kevlar?"

"Yep! Just like oobleck, when a soft motion disturbs it, it remains calm and docile. But when a strong force opposes, it becomes so tough it can stop bullets!" she said. "I also made you these compact weights." she said as she handed him weights that looked like bracelets.

His eyes widened. "Wow. Hatsume you're amazing."

The salmon-haired inventor smiled. "Hee hee, tell me more. Compliment me more. It's good for my ego."

Midoriya smiled as well, then he remembered something.

"Oh wait! Before you go I have something to give you as well." Midoriya told her as he ran to his bag on a nearby bench.

Hatsume's eyes twinkled. "Oh what is it? A wrench? A screwdriver? A motherboard." she gasped. "A hadron collider?"

"Ehh… none of those actually." Midoriya pulled out what looked to be gold and red steampunk goggles with crosshairs on them as he went back to Hatsume. "It's not much but, I built these out of the materials I found lying around here as well."

Hatsume silently accepted the goggles and admired them, tears twinkling.

"It's a pair of goggles which can also pass for binoculars," he said. "You once mentioned your quirk being Zoom. With that in mind I made it so that once you zoom in, the crosshairs on every side will tell you just how far you're seeing depending on your quirk usage."

Hatsume still said nothing.

"All- Sir also told me you liked steampunk, so I made this." Midoriya sheepishly said. "I know it's not much but do you at least like it?"

"Like it?" Hatsume barely managed to say as she put on the accessory. Once she did, she put her head up to face Midoriya and…

She smiled her best.

"I love it Midoriya!" Hatsume didn't notice the tears falling from her eyes. "I love it so much!"

Midoriya scrambled for a bit. "W-Why are you crying?"

Hatsume's smile didn't falter. "It means I'm happy Midoriya. This is the first time I've been given something from someone aside from my parents."

She went closer to Midoriya and enveloped him in an embrace.

"Really… thank you."

"...You're welcome Hatsume-san."

Hatsume kept the hold on him for a few more moments.

She knew she had to let go and attend UA. Yet she didn't want the moment to stop.

'_This is… weird. But I like it somehow.'_

Eventually, Midoriya was the one to break their embrace.

"Best of luck to you Hatsume-san."

Toshinori walked up to them.

Midoriya's eyes widened. "All- Sir! You're here early."

The man chuckled and ruffled Midoriya's hair. "Of course. After all, we won't get to see Hatsume-san for a while."

Hatsume frowned. "Yeah, I'm going to be in U.A most of the time."

"Then, as Midoriya-shounen's mentor. Allow me to ask a favor," he said. "Please continue to assist Midoriya-shounen even in U.A."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "S-Sir-"

"I've seen Midoriya interact with other people. He turns into a stuttering mess." he smiled. "But with you Hatsume-san, he's comfortable. He trusts you."

Hatsume's eyes widened. She turned to Midoriya for confirmation but was only met with a blushing nod.

She grinned. "Of course sir! We're friends after all," she said. "If not that then what're friends even for?"

Toshinori chuckled. "You're right! Exactly right Hatsume-san!"

She nodded. "I'll make sure to pass and get into the Support course to assist Midoriya better."

"Then remember what I told you." Toshinori looked up to the sky. "What will you do after you reach your goal and why you have to reach it."

She nodded. "Thank you, Sir!"

The trio rest in silence for a moment, until it was finally time.

"Well, you have to get going now Hastume-san." Midoriya said as he smiled.

The girl kept quiet and picked up her bag, visibly frowning.

"Hatsume-san?"

"Mei."

Midoriya blinked a few times and raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"Mei." Hatsume smiled. "If we both meet again in U.A, you have to call me Mei, and I get to call you Izuku."

Midoriya blushed at the implication but kept it down. Not wanting to ruin the moment.

"That's a deal between us friends alright?" she put her fist up in a fist bump.

Midoriya smiled and gave her a fist bump.

"Definitely."

Toshinori smiled at the pair.

To think their friendship would come this far. Though they certainly had a bizarre beginning, it was very good to see them like this now.

Though Toshinori had to wonder.

'_When Midoriya graduates, would Hatsume be his support hero?'_

* * *

"Welcome to the Support Course exam students!" a man wearing a rectangular excavator claw on the stage said.

Hatsume looked in awe. _'Power Loader…'_

And though they were roughly five-hundred candidates this year. Yet amidst all the people, she felt determined.

'_I just have to be one of the 150 candidates to pass.' _she thought as a bead of sweat rolled down her face. _'Easier said than done.'_

"Now without further ado, this is this year's theme!" Power Loader said as a word popped up on the screen behind him.

Hatsume's eyes widened, then she grinned. _'Mobility...'_

"I have booths assigned to every one of you," he said. "All of you shall build support items mainly to boost or improve your client's mobility. This invention of yours will have to be tested by yourself, so make sure it works."

Hatsume and all the other candidates nodded.

"You can pass your work early as soon as you think it's passable. But during the month in which you will be building, I have a team of judges who check every booth every day and you will be graded by how much progress you have done. Those judges start tomorrow."

Hatsume clenched her fist and bit her lip in excitement.

"And lastly, do so with all your heart. An invention is without soul nor purpose. It is up to us inventors to bring soul and purpose to the invention!" Power Loader declared. "Now go on! Plus Ultra everyone!"

The doors to the side of them retracted to reveal many work booths complete with computers, tools, materials and such.

"W-Wow…"

This was it.

A whole month to build something for mobility.

Hatsume's eyes twinkled.

This baby would be so neat.

* * *

Blank.

Hatsume had twirled her pencil around her fingers for fifteen minutes already.

Yet

She

Still

Came

Up

BLANK!

Hatsume groaned as she lightly slammed her forehead onto the wall next to her.

She could hear the sounds of pencil sketchings around her. Yet that didn't help her at all. If anything it made her more irritated.

This was so easy back home, why was it so hard now?

A knock on the door disturbed her. "Having trouble little lady?"

Turns out, Power Loader was checking up on each one of them.

Hatsume nodded. "Yeah I'm fine sensei." she nervously smiled. "Just… a little nervous that's all."

"I can tell," he said. "Also coming up empty huh?"

Hatsume only looked down and frowned.

"Don't be so dramatic kid." Power Loader told her. "We all go through this. You're in an unfamiliar environment and it's harder to think yeah?"

Hatsume slowly nodded.

"Then just imagine you're at home or with people you're comfortable with." Power Loader said.

"Imagine you're building for someone."

Hatsume's eyes widened.

* * *

"_Think about which hero you want to be a support hero for."_

* * *

"I'm building for someone… the one I want to work as a support hero for…" Hatsume pondered on those words.

Then,

Hatsume grinned. She nodded and let ideas come to her mind as she soon grabbed the pencil and drew on the nearest piece of paper.

Power Loader smiled. "Seems like you have an idea now," he said. "I'll leave you to it. Best of luck." he said before he left.

But Hatsume didn't register those thoughts. Instead, opting to think more about her work.

'_Something for mobility… wings? Speed boots?' _she pondered. _'I wonder what Midoriya would… think…-'_

Hatsume's eyes widened as she remembered a few moments of her time with Midoriya.

* * *

"_With how hard the propellers were going I reckon it could hover a person!"_

_..._

"_Quite an output for something as small as a coin."_

_..._

"_Today was a bit alarming. But when you take out the prospect of me being pulled it kinda reminded me of those grapple guns you see in video games."_

* * *

'_It could hover a person... Then if I'm going to use it for mobility then…'_

Hatsume nodded as she wrote her idea down.

'_Big boom from small things. If I can do that with a coin, maybe I can make something big enough to wield but put out a much bigger force and recreate something that would make a person more than just hover… It could make the average person fly even if just for a bit…'_

She smiled and wrote it down.

'_Grapple guns… grapple. If I can make something that propels someone through the use of grappling… Pull someone towards something, then maybe…'_

Hatsume grinned as she wrote down her final idea for the exam.

The next hours were lost to Hatsume as she had drawn, sketch, remade, and readjusted her designs so many times over she lost count.

Yet now the design was finally done. Hatsume couldn't help but grin.

There they were. Drawn on the notes were supposed sketches of her inventions.

Sketches and measurements on boots, some kind of gauntlet, and another type of gauntlet that had an arrow next to it.

The inventor girl smirked and scanned them into the computer.

'_These babies will be my greatest yet!'_

* * *

Hatsume had put her heart and soul into her work. Stopping to eat and go to the bathroom but other than that she was relentless in her work. Sometimes stuff would blow up in her booth, something that always grabbed the attention of Power Loader and others. Yet when they checked up on her she was already salvaging pieces and starting over again with a smile on her face, truly enjoying what she was doing.

And then she had finished a week earlier than the deadline.

Power Loader was shocked for sure, yet it was not unwelcome, just unexpected.

He then instructed Hatsume to follow him and several others to grade and test her invention out for herself.

And now here she was, in a rather plain white room with her proctors on the other side communicating with her through a set of speakers on her side.

"Now, Candidate #296, Hatsume Mei." Power Loader called out. "Mind telling us something about your quirk and your inventions and how this would help in regards to mobility?"

"My quirk is [Zoom]. As the name suggests, my eyes can see up to very far distances and if I put these glasses on me, my visual perception quality doesn't get reduced as much. There's also a scope on it" she said.

"I see…" Power Loader said. "Did you build that as well."

Hatsume looked at the glasses tenderly. "No. It was... A gift from a friend."

Traces of a smile were found on Power Loader's face. "Anyhow. How about telling us something about your inventions and how this would help in regards to mobility?

At this, Hatsume smirked. "How about instead of me telling you, why don't I show you?"

She put on a tough facade, but inside she was very, very nervous.

Power Loader grinned. _'This girl…'_

"Alright. Then let us know this, where do you think your invention will have the biggest advantage on?"

Hatsume smirked. "Dare I say, _anywhere._"

Power Loader blinked before he smiled. "Alright, if you say so. Hit it up! Abandoned town!"

The area around Hatsume shifted. The wall went down, buildings came up and before she knew it, her new surroundings had consisted of a small abandoned town stretching far and wide. Where there were some sort of targets spread across the entire area.

"Villains are more likely to hide in abandoned towns when in pursuit. But when disturbed, they may use their surroundings to get an advantage." Power Loader told her as round red targets showed up all around the field. "Demonstrate how to use your inventions to hit targets within 5 minutes," he said. "You don't have to hit all of them. Assessment will be majorly based on how your inventions function."

She nodded. Hatsume breathed in deeply.

"Alright! I have three babies with me today!" Hatsume told them. "They'll be more than enough."

Hatsume put them all on her. With some kind of heavy boots, two different glove-looking devices on both of her wrists. "Although one could say this is complete, I think this is still a prototype, but I've known a way for all three of my babies to work simultaneously.

Hatsume grit her teeth. _'Ain't no time like now.'_

"You are to use everything in the vicinity at your disposal. You have five minutes." Power Loader hovered his hand over a button.

She pushed a button on her right wrist's glove. Making the glove appear to be somewhat heating up.

"Ready…"

Hatsume pushed a button on her boots. Making a humming sound.

"Get set."

The inventor pulled her left arm back, a small arrow springing from it.

"Go!"

The motion was accompanied by the sound of a bell.

* * *

Power Loader was amazed.

To think the girl who had finished a week earlier than everyone else had made inventions this reliable.

Truth be told once in a while they would always get cocky candidate though…

She surpassed expectations Power Loader had set for her.

The piece of equipment was what he dubbed were Hover Boots seeing as she hovered and skated rather than ran or walked while the two devices on her wrist were a grapple gun and some kind of thrusters on gloves respectively. The thruster gloves could also emit small, but very high in range, very fast as well.

With the help of her hover boots, during her jumps the amount of airtime she has increased. And while in the air, she would launch her grapple glove onto another building and used her thruster for more distance.

But turns out, the girl's body couldn't really handle the recoil from the thruster gun. Yet even _she_ had taken advantage of that fact. Using the recoil, she maneuvered and shot multiple targets simultaneously.

Every time she shot her thruster at a target, she would retract her grapple arrow. Then she would go along the flow of the recoil and spin once or twice before once again deploying the grapple arrow, making it attach itself to somewhere else, and repeat.

Power Loader had seen the same tactic before mostly with the pro-hero Kamui Woods; using the law of interaction. But this girl wasn't a trained professional.

Yet it was amazing to see how natural she looked whilst swinging along.

"Sir, she's hit twenty-five targets and it's only been two minutes." an examiner next to Power Loader said.

'_What? It can't be. That's too many in such a short time…'_

His eyes widened, then he smirked.

Hatsume Mei's quirk was to zoom in. And if she could do just that combined with her glasses…

Then she could hit her future targets clearly and shoot them with precision since her glasses also had scopes…

'_Amazing.'_

Power Loader and the others watched as the girl moved to and fro, never staying for more than three seconds on the ground before she resumed her volley from the air.

"How many times has she fired her thrusters?"

"According to the readings sir, her thrusters fired 50- 51 times now."

Power Loader took up a thinking pose. _'51 consecutive bursts and with no traces of overheating. I see, that's why the bursts aren't that strong, the small device simply can't handle it without exploding.'_

"Sir, she's down to 15 more with three and a half minutes on the clock."

Power Loader didn't pay him any attention, he was much more focuses on the girl moving around in front of them.

"14."

Power Loader watched as she made a double-tap.

"D-Double hit sir! 12 more."

Hatsume pulled herself onto the side of a target. She ripped the round target off and threw it like a frisbee, hitting another one.

"Another double hit! 10 more."

'_Not just her finesse and proficiency, but her brute strength is impressive.' _Power Loader remarked. _'Even if the targets themselves are made out of wood, to rip one out of its braces is…'_

"9."

He could see the girl panting, yet she still held a smile on her face.

"8."

He never said she had to hit all of them, but the girl was currently doing so with a smile on her face.

"Double hit! 6 more."

Why would she go so far? Did she have something to prove?

"5."

Power Loader had seen many individuals, but to see someone like this…

"4."

He smiled.

"3."

'_Such potential.'_

"2."

He let his eyes flow down onto his clipboard and brought out a pen.

"1."

Hatsume landed on the ground with a thud...

With the last target crashing down behind her.

Albeit her fatigue and dizziness, Hatsume couldn't smile wider.

"Zero."

* * *

"Hatsume Mei." Power Loader went down to talk to her personally as she stood up straight.

"Yes sir?"

"Before I tell you the results. I have to ask you something first." Power Loaded started. "How long have you been making inventions?"

Hatsume raised an eyebrow but answered nonetheless. "Since I was about six-years-old sir."

He nodded. "And how many have worked?"

She scratched her cheek nervously. "O-Only around 20 work."

"And most of these that work are?"

"I use them for household chores, some for my own kind of transportation."

Power Head raised an eyebrow, but dismissed the thought. "Then with that number of working inventions from the obvious numerous you've done before, surely you've had seeds of doubt planted in you." he said. "What made you think otherwise and take the exam?"

"It's nothing special really." she said before she gazed up. "Although it did take someone else to knock some sense into me, but the bottom line is; I want to prove people wrong about me, I want to prove my babies can save and not just destroy,"

She said with conviction.

"And really... I want to make someone proud of me…" Hatsume's cheeks had a tinge of red.

Power Loader smiled. _'Well, would you look at that.'_

"Nevertheless. Hatsume Mei, you have hit all 50 targets in only 4 minutes and 58 seconds." he smiled. "A first for the support course and a sure way to pass this exam."

"Regardless of your past failures, you went ahead through trial and error to get where you are." Power Loader said.

Hatsume smiled. _'Trial and error…'_

He glanced at her inventions. "Your inventions have offensive power, yet even that offensive power has added boosts for your mobility. You used your finesse to maneuver around tight corners, you hold great strength, and most of all, you enjoyed yourself."

Hatsume's eyes had hints of tears.

"And so with my authority, I welcome you, Hatsume Mei, to the U.A support course!" he declared as a victory sound boomed through the speakers. "You pass with flying colors."

Unable to contain herself. She glanced on both of her hands.

Those hands had helped her get to where she was.

She pumped both of them into the air and laughed.

"YEEEEEEEESSS!"

* * *

Hatsume opened the door into her new home for her time in U.A.

Support Course dormitories.

Granted she was the only one on the building safe for her seniors.

As soon as she saw the room itself, her eyes widened.

T-The bed!

Hatsume felt the soft fabric and cooed.

T-The bathroom!

Oh dear, the bathroom was large! With a bathtub, a shower, and everything!

There was even a flat-screen wall television!

But it was perhaps the simplest object there that had caught her attention the most.

A simple table, with tools strapped to the side and several plain blueprints and a computer in front of it.

A work table.

She went closer to it. And somehow she felt comfortable sitting on the table.

But for all her gazing, she hit her head on the window.

'_Oww, that hurt.'_

It was only then that she stared out the window.

A most beautiful view, with the sun setting along a beach she was most familiar wit-

Wait, a beach?

Hatsume scrambled to put on her goggles and used her quirk on the beach.

'_Please let me at least get close enough to see.'_

She zoomed in as she could. She couldn't see anything, even with the goggles. To zoom in this much only gave her a pixelated visual perception.

It was no use.

Still using her quirk, she trailed down and caught a green pixel down the street, it looked to be jogging.

She solemnly smiled. She knew who it was without even needing to know for sure.

But she wouldn't bother him, no. Since he was sure she'd pass the exam, she too should also be about him as well.

But was it wrong to be concerned?

Hatsume dismissed these thoughts and sat down her desk.

Although she wanted to start, she was still a week earlier than everyone else. Hence, she had a week's worth of free time.

And if you know Hatsume Mei…

You do not give her that much free time!

She cackled madly. She grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper and started scribbling ideas.

Even in another environment. Hatsume Mei would still be Hatsume Mei.

* * *

A week and a month had passed. It was midnight in U.A, yet Hatsume Mei was still awake.

'_Midnight huh?'_ She stared at the moon through her window. _'It's February 27 now. I hope Midoriya did alright.'_

She thought. But again she dismissed it and focused on her work.

Most of the Support Course students would be asked for improvement to other student's hero costumes already, not that Hatsume minded.

And here she was, late at night, tweaking a belt for some kind of technological attachments.

She let out a breath and leaned back in her chair. She should be sleeping, but the excitement of creating a new baby kept her up every night.

Deciding to take a break, she lowered the AC's temperature and checked her new phone.

She had earned money through favors and requests from students and teachers alike for the past month, and she had saved up enough.

Scrolling through her feed, none of the topics really interested her.

Her hands stopped and she stared at one thing on the screen.

Then she giggled. Before turning into a quiet laugh.

'_Ahhh that's great.'_ Hatsume glanced outside the window and smiled. _'I'll continue working hard Midoriya. I'll support you even if I have to go through trial and error.'_

'_You were the first one to truly believe in me after all. Even after I doubted myself you kept me going.'_

'_I can't repay that favor, not yet.'_

'_But perhaps, if we can continue being partners, nay, friends even after U.A and you become a pro-hero…'_

'_I'll be working for you, supporting you every step of the way just as you did me even if you don't really acknowledge it.'_

'_And so until then, I'll go through my own process of trial and error to figure out just what is wrong with me whenever you come into my mind.'_

'_And when I finally know the answer, then maybe you can give me your answer. If you won't give me one, I'll try as many times as I have to until you do.'_

Hatsume smiled. Before she put her phone on the desk.

And here we see what is written on the phone.

It was an article made just four hours ago.

The headline stated;

**[Dagobah Municipal Park. Filthy no more.]**

Hatsume grinned.

'Looks like I still have work to do.'

* * *

**AN: YOOOO WHAT IS UP! ANOTHER ONESHOT THAT'S WHAT! I HOPE I GOT HATSUME'S CHARACTER RIGHT, ALBEIT WITH A LITTLE CHANGES. THE INVENTIONS SHE MADE ON THIS EXAM ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF WHAT YOU SEE SHE USES ON THE FESTIVAL.**

**HOVER BOOTS**

**GRAPPLE**

**THRUSTER**

**PRETTY BASIC REALLY, BUT MY MIND ISN'T AS IMAGINATIVE AS HATSUME'S.**

**AND WITH ALL MIGHT BEING SIR… I THOUGHT OF IT AS A NEAT REFERENCE TO HIS FORMER SIDEKICK.**

**ALSO USED A BUNCH OF RWBY PHYSICS WITH HOW HATSUME DID HER EXAM.**

**HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT. **

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW. I LIKE READING YOUR OPINIONS, GOOD OR BAD.**

**SIGNING OFF… **_**ZacFF.**_


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